On 15 October last year, Mother Nature dealt us a blow. Our manufacturing and decoration plant in Torelló, Spain, suffered a violent flash flood caused by tropical storm Leslie. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but we sustained a lot of damage. Looking back at 2018, I realise that the event was one of the proudest moments in Quadpack’s history.

An arduous clean-up effort restored the plant back to full capacity in just six weeks. This almost miraculous undertaking was possible thanks to the pro-active and positive attitude of our people, who worked tirelessly to bring the plant back to life. An attitude which forms the foundation of our success as a business.

Quadpack is a company built on people. Our skills, values, work ethic and shared vision are what drives us forward. We are today an almost 400-strong global team, expanding into new territories. Last year, we significantly increased our presence in Asia and the US. We invested €2.4 million in our production facilities. And we increased our sales by 15%, with a turnover set to hit €104 million.

Our explosive growth over the past years led us to centralise our services, establishing a global structure to ensure consistency in processes and service levels. I realise now that, while successful globally, we may have lost a little locally. So, from this year onward, we’ll be recapturing our roots by strengthening our local sales, support and customer service operations. In-country tactical management, package development and customer support staff will enable sales teams to operate with greater speed and flexibility.

This mix of local agility within a global framework effectively makes us a ‘Little Big Company’. It’s a business model that’s conceived to empower our people, to give them both the freedom and the corporate support they need to do their job, wherever they are.

Our headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, will undergo a transformation, too. Our offices will be supplemented by a further 800m2. This will give us much-needed room for more collaborative working spaces, training facilities and recreational areas – all designed to promote knowledge sharing, talent development and the wellbeing of our staff. The additional space will also allow us to expand our laboratory and inaugurate a spectacular new showroom.

As we prepare for the year ahead, besides growth, we seek balance. Success should not be measured by profit alone. The flood at Torelló highlighted the value of a motivated team, capable of reacting quickly in exceptional circumstances. We have an extensive budget set aside to invest in our future in a wide range of areas, from production facilities to talent acquisition. We have a matrix management system that encourages agility. What’s most important, however, is the people we have in place, who drive our growth and determine our character as a business. With our Little Big Company model to support us, the future is looking very bright indeed.

All that remains is for me to thank all of you who have supported us during the past year and to wish you all a very happy new year!

Tim Eaves
CEO and Co-Founder
Quadpack Industries